I had great time and I liked how the geology kept changing from the forest to the alpine meadows to the color change of the rock. The view was hazy and couldn't see well past the North Sister but still a worthwhile climb.

This climb for me was hard. Just when I thought I was the strongest man alive, I looked over and saw a 60 year old women. I was in awe of her level of drive and commitment to climb this Goliath. What an amazing person she was, I think this was the highlight of the climb for me. That and when the crazy guy jumped in Tear Drop Lake.
Thanks South Sister, now I am addicted!

We climbed South Sister last weekend. It was my son, Mike's, first ascent, and the weather was perfect. We left at about 8 AM from the trailhead at Devil's Lake and took the south summit trail from the campground's North Parking Lot. Watch out for many mosquitos at the lake, but once up above the first crest, and onto the plateau, the view of South Sister was fabulous and the bugs were gone. I noticed much less snow than in years past in the glaciers on the south face, so bring plenty of water for the trip up. But the crater was full of snow and also many colored butterflies joined us while we scrambled up the red skree field slope to the top. We reached the top at about noontime. The trip down was very dusty, and we basically slid our way down on the skree, so it only took us about 3 hours to get back to the car. All in all, a beautiful day in the High Cascades together.

One last note - all the way down we were dreaming of burgers and ribs and lemonade at our favorite spot in Sisters, Oregon; Bronco Billy's at the Sisters Hotel, about 30 minutes away on Hwy. 20. We may make it a traditional "after-climbing" hangout. I would recommend it.

Had a good time hiking up the trail to the top of this big mountain. I had thought that it would be more difficult than it was, but I believe I could have left my hiking boots at home and gone in my Crocs (well maybe not quite). Anyway, it was a really nice, easy climb.

A very long day (18 miles) and a very strenuous hike up the west gully from the Green Lakes. Especially difficult after summiting Broken Top the night before, but well worth it. From the summit we got a great view of The Black Crater Fire from the summit. After the hike back down the south ridge to the trail at the bright blue lake, we glissaded our way back to the Green Lakes area. This was by far the longest (2 miles or so!) and most enjoyable glissade of my life! Very very fun trip!

Most snow has melted off route; reached snow 3/4 mile in and then had patches on the way up. Skitters are now in full force and horrid for first couple miles. During our descent, we came upon a terrified 8 year old boy who had wandered down trail alone, 700 feet of elevation and over 1/2 mile, away from his family. Our party found him and waited while I hiked back up to inform the family. A simple hike/climb, but some strange things can still happen. 4th time on summit.

Left Devils Lake at 3:30 am under clear skies. Trail not visible due to snow, but followed general route using topo map without trouble. Summited at 7am and had the top to myself for the entire hour before descending. Beautiful day with clear skies, very little wind, and warm temps, not to mention a lack of crowds. Met about 15-20 people making the ascent on my way down. Would recommend doing this climb early in the year and early in the day if you want to avoid crowds. Snow up until Lewis Glacier, but no technical gear required. Back at truck by 10am to round out a worthwhile trek.

Second summit after Mt. Adams on a Cascade/Olympic NP tour with my buddies Brian and Becket. I didn't know it at the time, but the South Ridge route on South Sister would become my standard to compare all horrible slogs against. Nothing in the Sierra Nevada even compares to how loose the South Ridge route is. I guess I must be spoiled down here in CA! When I ever hear anyone bitch about "how loose that chute was" I tell him it was cake and they should go climb South Sister in the Summer!

Climbed this one with my brother-in-law, Michael Eschenberg. Lots of snow for June. Hiked in snow almost the entire way. Crampons helped out on certain portions of the climb. Beautiful weather and it was actually a little too warm on the way down.

This was, as I am sure it is with most people, the highest place I had ever been to at the end of our morning run to the top. After climbing (?) South Sister I thought coming down off of every mountain would be as fun as the scree-skiing available here. Not bloody likely! I'll never forget how cold Moraine Lake was, nor the Reedies who were punishing us all by skinny-dipping. Oh, the hair...oh, the humanity! Like sasquatches easing into a hot tub.

What a beautiful area of Oregon. Walked the crater rim and frolicked in the snow, just a wonderful late summer peak. Could see as far as Thielsen in the south to Hood to the north, difficult to make out peaks to the east or the valley to the west. Attempted to jog down the mountain straining both knees in the process, turned an otherwise enjoyable return trip into the descent from hell.

August 20 2006
Climbed this again with my brother, went much more smoothly than last years knee-spraining trip. Millions of butterflies at the summit were somewhat of a nuisance.

Wonderful trip to the top. Was a little dissapointing at first because low-lying clouds completely obscured the view. When we broke out on top and saw the valley below, it made the whole trip worth it, and morale for the group increased dramatically. Fortunately, we didn't have to eat our horses or camels, though it would have been nice to have had more water for the trip down.